Toner bottle, process for producing the same, toner container, and toner cartridge, and, image forming apparatus and image forming process

• US 20070077100A1
• Filed: 08/04/2006
• Published: 04/05/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Masahiro Nakayama, Masato Suzuki, Yoshihide Kawamura
• Original Assignee: Masahiro Nakayama, Masato Suzuki, Yoshihide Kawamura
• Inventors: Suzuki, Masato, Kawamura, Yoshihide, Nakayama, Masahiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,313,349 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/262
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2049/023 using inherent heat of the preform, i.e. 1 step blow moulding
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0715 the preform having one end closed
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0813 of the neck
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0816 of the flange
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 2949/0825 of the flange
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/06 Injection blow-moulding
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2067/00 Use of polyesters or derivatives thereof, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/087 Developer cartridges having a longitudinal rotational axis, around which at least one part is rotated when mounting or using the cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0872 the developer cartridges being generally horizontally mounted parallel to its longitudinal rotational axis
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/0886 by mechanical means, e.g. shutter, plug
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/0129 horizontal medium transport path at the secondary transfer

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to provide toner bottles and the like in which the possibility to damage the ring gear, in particular the teeth of the ring gear, is remarkably suppressed at processing the toner bottle such as handling, packaging, and transporting, thus packaging and transporting are principally possible without cushioning materials. Accordingly, provided is a toner bottle comprising a cylindrical bottle having a bottom, a cylindrical aperture for supplying a toner, and a ring gear, wherein a helical concave is formed on the side wall of the cylindrical bottle along the axis of the cylindrical bottle, the cylindrical aperture is disposed at one end of the cylindrical bottle, the cylindrical aperture is concentric with the cylindrical bottle, and the outside diameter of the cylindrical aperture is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle, the ring gear is disposed on the cylindrical aperture, the ring gear is concentric with the cylindrical aperture, and the tip circle diameter of the ring gear is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle.

Claims

1. A toner bottle comprising:

a cylindrical bottle having a bottom,

a cylindrical aperture for supplying a toner, and

a ring gear,

wherein a helical concave is formed on the side wall of the cylindrical bottle along the axis of the cylindrical bottle,

the cylindrical aperture is disposed at one end of the cylindrical bottle, the cylindrical aperture is concentric with the cylindrical bottle, and the outside diameter of the cylindrical aperture is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle,

the ring gear is disposed on the cylindrical aperture, the ring gear is concentric with the cylindrical aperture, and the tip circle diameter of the ring gear is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle, and

wherein the toner bottle is produced by the process comprising;

setting a hollow cylindrical preform, having the ring gear for rotating the toner bottle, into a mold tool using the ring gear as a supporting ring,

heating the mold tool containing the hollow cylindrical preform,

injecting pressurized gas into the hallow cavity of the hollow cylindrical preform, thereby

subjecting the hollow cylindrical preform to biaxial stretching and blow molding.

2. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein the ring gear is disposed with a space of 5 mm to 20 mm from the end face of the cylindrical aperture.

3. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein the difference between the outer diameter of the cylindrical bottle and the tip circle diameter of the ring gear is 1 mm to 10 mm.

4. The toner bottle according to claim 1, further comprising a connecting and extending portion at one end of the cylindrical bottle,

wherein the inner diameter of the cylindrical aperture of the connecting and extending portion is smaller than the inner diameter of the cylindrical bottle,

a spiral path for guiding the toner is provided on the connecting and extending portion, and

the ring gear is connected to the edge of the connecting and extending portion.

5. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein the tooth width of the ring gear is 2 mm or more.

6. The toner bottle according to claim 5, wherein the tooth width of the ring gear is 4 mm to 6 mm.

7. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein the ring gear is provided on the cylindrical aperture of which the wall thickness is thinner than the tooth width of the ring gear, the ring gear is comprised of a disk that is concentric with the cylindrical aperture and ring teeth that are concentrically connected to the outer edge of the disk, and

the wall thickness W3 of the disk and the wall thickness W2 of cylindrical aperture are in the relation:

W3=W2±

2 mm.

8. The toner bottle according to claim 7, wherein the wall thickness W3 of the disk and the wall thickness W2 of cylindrical aperture are 1 mm to 4 mm respectively.

9. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein an aperture for feeding the toner is formed at the bottom of the cylindrical bottle, a sealing member of which the shape is sheet-like or plate-like is adhered to the aperture for feeding the toner, and the sealing member is capable of opening and closing the aperture for feeding the toner.

10. The toner bottle according to claim 1, wherein the toner bottle is a molded plastic that is equipped with a ring gear molded integrally with the cylindrical bottle.

11. The toner bottle according to claim 10, wherein the plastic is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate resins, polyethylene resins, polypropylene resins, polyvinyl chloride resins, polyamide resins, polystyrene resins, and polycarbonate resins.

12. The toner bottle according to claim 1 wherein the hollow cylindrical preform is formed by injection molding.

13. A toner container comprising a toner bottle and a cap,

wherein the cap, being attached to the toner bottle, covers the cylindrical aperture and its neighborhood while exposing the teeth of the ring gear, and;

the toner bottle comprises;

a cylindrical bottle having a bottom,

a cylindrical aperture for supplying a toner, and

a ring gear,

wherein a helical concave is formed on the side wall of the cylindrical bottle along the axis of the cylindrical bottle;

the cylindrical aperture is disposed at one end of the cylindrical bottle, the cylindrical aperture is concentric with the cylindrical bottle, and the outside diameter of the cylindrical aperture is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle;

the ring gear is disposed on the cylindrical aperture, the ring gear is concentric with the cylindrical aperture, and the tip circle diameter of the ring gear is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle, and

the toner bottle is produced by the process comprising;

setting a hollow cylindrical preform, having the ring gear for rotating the toner bottle, into a mold tool using the ring gear as a supporting ring;

heating the mold tool containing the hollow cylindrical perform;

injecting pressurized gas into the hallow cavity of the hollow cylindrical perform; and

thereby

subjecting the hollow cylindrical preform to biaxial stretching and blow molding.

14. The toner container according to claim 14, wherein a toner exit is provided at a site of the cap where the cap covers the cylindrical aperture, and a shutter is provided for opening and closing the toner exit.

15. The toner container according to claim 15, wherein the toner container is mounted to an image forming apparatus in an attachable and detachable manner through the cap in a specific position, and the shutter is capable of opening.

16. A toner cartridge, comprising a toner container and a toner filled in the toner container,

wherein the toner container comprises:

a toner bottle; and

a cap,

wherein the cap, being attached to the toner bottle, covers the cylindrical aperture and its neighborhood while exposing the teeth of the ring gear;

the toner bottle comprises;

a cylindrical bottle having a bottom;

a cylindrical aperture for supplying a toner; and

a ring gear,

wherein a helical concave is formed on the side wall of the cylindrical bottle along the axis of the cylindrical bottle;

the cylindrical aperture is disposed at one end of the cylindrical bottle, the cylindrical aperture is concentric with the cylindrical bottle, and the outside diameter of the cylindrical aperture is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle;

the ring gear is disposed on the cylindrical aperture, the ring gear is concentric with the cylindrical aperture, and the tip circle diameter of the ring gear is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle; and

the toner bottle is produced by the process comprising;

setting a hollow cylindrical preform, having the ring gear for rotating the toner bottle, into a mold tool using the ring gear as a supporting ring;

heating the mold tool containing the hollow cylindrical perform;

injecting pressurized gas into the hallow cavity of the hollow cylindrical preform; and

thereby

subjecting the hollow cylindrical preform to biaxial stretching and blow molding.

17. An image forming apparatus comprising:

a photoconductor, a latent electrostatic image forming unit configured to form an electrostatic image on the photoconductor, a developing unit configured to develop the latent electrostatic image by means of a toner to form a visible image, a transferring unit configured to transfer the visible image on a recording medium, and a fixing unit configured to fix the transferred image on the recording medium,

wherein a toner cartridge is mounted to the image forming apparatus through a cap in an attachable and detachable manner, and a toner is supplied from the toner cartridge,

wherein the toner cartridge comprises a toner container and the toner filled in the toner container, the toner container comprises a toner bottle and the cap,

the cap, being attached to the toner bottle, covers the cylindrical aperture and its neighborhood while exposing the teeth of the ring gear;

the toner bottle comprises;

a cylindrical bottle having a bottom;

a cylindrical aperture for supplying a toner; and

a ring gear,

wherein a helical concave is formed on the side wall of the cylindrical bottle along the axis of the cylindrical bottle;

the cylindrical aperture is disposed at one end of the cylindrical bottle, the cylindrical aperture is concentric with the cylindrical bottle, and the outside diameter of the cylindrical aperture is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle;

the ring gear is disposed on the cylindrical aperture, the ring gear is concentric with the cylindrical aperture, and the tip circle diameter of the ring gear is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle; and

the toner bottle is produced by the process comprising;

setting a hollow cylindrical preform, having the ring gear for rotating the toner bottle, into a mold tool using the ring gear as a supporting ring;

heating the mold tool containing the hollow cylindrical perform;

injecting pressurized gas into the hallow cavity of the hollow cylindrical preform; and

thereby

subjecting the hollow cylindrical preform to biaxial stretching and blow molding.

18. An image forming process, comprising:

forming a latent electrostatic image on a photoconductor surface, developing the latent electrostatic image to form a visible image by means of a toner, transferring the visible image on a recording medium, and fixing the image transferred on the recording medium,

wherein the image forming apparatus is employed to which a toner cartridge is mounted through a cap in an attachable and detachable manner, and a toner is supplied from the toner cartridge

wherein the toner cartridge comprises a toner container and the toner filled in the toner container,

the toner container comprises a toner bottle and the cap,

wherein the cap, being attached to the toner bottle, covers the cylindrical aperture and its neighborhood while exposing the teeth of the ring gear;

the toner bottle comprises;

a cylindrical bottle having a bottom;

a cylindrical aperture for supplying a toner; and

a ring gear,

wherein a helical concave is formed on the side wall of the cylindrical bottle along the axis of the cylindrical bottle;

the cylindrical aperture is disposed at one end of the cylindrical bottle, the cylindrical aperture is concentric with the cylindrical bottle, and the outside diameter of the cylindrical aperture is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle;

the ring gear is disposed on the cylindrical aperture, the ring gear is concentric with the cylindrical aperture, and the tip circle diameter of the ring gear is smaller than the outside diameter of the cylindrical bottle; and

the toner bottle is produced by the process comprising;

setting a hollow cylindrical preform, having the ring gear for rotating the toner bottle, into a mold tool using the ring gear as a supporting ring;

heating the mold tool containing the hollow cylindrical perform;

injecting pressurized gas into the hallow cavity of the hollow cylindrical preform; and

thereby

subjecting the hollow cylindrical preform to biaxial stretching and blow molding.